Wednesday, June 28, 2006
June 29 Philippians 2
Go ahead and look first at Philippians 2 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Philippians 2:5-6
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped
Title: The Christ Hymn
Observation: Jesus took the form of a servant. And he left the infinite space of eternity for the almost inconceivably small space of a human body. It’s a kind of claustrophobia I can’t imagine.
But even among humans Jesus took the role of the servant. And that at the appointed time, allowed himself to be led to the slaughter like a lamb. Jesus trusted God with all that he had, and God raised him up, and gave him the name that is above every other name.
In our own limited way, we need to follow the example of Christ. Take the form of a servant. Be vulnerable enough to allow others to hurt us. And trust that God will validate a life of service.
Application: Its mostly my insecurity that keeps me from serving others when I fail to come alongside others. Sometimes its because I just don’t want to deal with others with need. But mostly I in my insecurity I want to prop myself up so that others know how important I am.
Instead I need to serve with humility and trust that as I honor God he will take pleasure in my doings. That my identity rests with him. And know that he will forget the little things that I can do to help those around me.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be humble, trusting you for my identity. Let me be strengthened in service so that I might yet be more vulnerable. Allow me to come before your presence as one who has followed the instructions of Christ.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
June 28 Philippians 1
Key Verse(s): Philippians 1:4-5
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now
Title: A Partnership for the Sake of the Gospel
Observation: Church can be about a lot of things. We can make it about friendship. We can believe it’s about family. We can think it’s transactional, that God tolerates us for another week because we made it to church. We can pretend that its about making us feel good, a source a mild entertainment.
But the truth is, the ecclesia, the called out community, was designed to be a partnership for the sake of bringing the gospel to the world. I long for this kind of partnership. I am willing to make major sacrifices to a part of a partnership for the sake of the gospel. But the other, too small identifications of a church, are less and less palatable.
Application: I need to be willing to communicate this truth. I must be willing to pay the cost for a real partnership with those who are sincerely trying to share the gospel with a hungry world. I want to live with this clear focus. I need to present this clarity of focus.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be clear as I lead about the reason we gather. Help me to love those who are not ready for it not to be about them. Help me present a better future that would attract those who need to hear this truth. Help me to put this into practice.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Monday, June 26, 2006
June 27 Galatians 6
Go ahead and look first at Galatians 6 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Galatians 6:4
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
Title: Comparisons are Odious
Observation: For many of us its hard to know where level is. And the way we find “sea level” is by comparing ourselves to others. Yet, we are not made by God like anyone else. Each one of us should rise to the level that God has gifted us, not merely surpassing someone in an area that you have been gifted by God in. Nor should we be devastated because God has uniquely gifted someone else to do something that we simply will never be able to do.
I love music. And I have a little bit of talent. But I am not gifted. And every so often I go overboard and try to lead with music instead of my giftedness of teaching and preaching. And I inevitably fall flat on my face. It’s hard for me to let it go, but it is not where God has called me to do.
Application: I need to accept what I have been gifted to do. And do it to the best of my ability, growing in the gifts that I have been given. And leave alone the things that I have not been given and enjoy those who are gifted in these ways.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gifts that you have given me. Keep developing in me the gifts you have given, that I might hone them for your glory. And allow me to leave comparisons behind, and only seek identity in You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
June 26 Galatians 5
Go ahead and look first at Galatians 5 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Title: The Good Stuff
Observation: The Fruits of the Spirit. These are the things that we want to demonstrate. Yet its not that we set out to live them, they should be the results of our living.
Yet am I loving? No? Time for a check up. If we are not living this way, we may need to how we have missed the goodness of God. I think that I can be so busy doing the work of God, that I miss the experience of being with God. And then I will exhibit the love patience, peace joy, goodness, etc.
We will fall sometimes. But the key is not to stay down, but to get back contact with the Spirit and to let the Spirit lead us. It is in the context of our relationship that we will bear fruit.
Application: I need to trust God, slow down, spend time with Him. I need to less concerned with accomplishing my purposes than spending time with God and experiencing His goodness.
Prayer: Lord, help me to enjoy being with you, and not being too busy looking behind or looking ahead to stay present with you. Help me to not be too busy to live in love with You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Sunday, June 25, 2006
June 25 Ephesians 6
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Title: Morale
Observation: No, this isn’t another one of those crazy English spellings of the word moral. Morale is the mental/emotional/spiritual state of a group of people and the intensity with which they pursue their purpose. Often applied to armies, this is the intangible quality that often serves as a beacon of success or failure.
The reason that an army’s morale can be crushed is when they think they’re out there alone. And our morale as Christians takes a beating when we are not refreshed by the awesome power of God’s love. We need to be reminded by ourselves and others about the awesome power of God that is available to us.
Sometimes in our attempts to be compassionate, we do not refer our fellow believers to the awesome power of Christ. We meet them with the tenderness that Christ has placed in us- that in itself is very, very good. And there are times when that’s how we need to minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ. But there are times we need to focus instead of the victorious message of the cross, and the awesome power we have through the Spirit to overcome. Living less than that is not where God wants us for long.
Collectively, we too need to believe that God can do great things. Sure the obstacles are great, but God and his power is greater than any of our difficulties. We need to know the truth of God’s power and plan.
Application: I need to believe that God has the power to overcome through me, around me, and for me more than what I could possibly do or imagine.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be willing to believe you. That you are with me. And that you will do great things in my life, in the life of my family, and the church. Lord, help me to encouraged by your great presence and power.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
June 21 Ephesians 5
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for
Christ.
Title: Mutual Submission
Observation: This is the core of Christian community life. Everything else is commentary.
Application: I need to be willing to submit to the weak, to wash the feet of the poor and diseased, to be the servant of the pagan, to love the unlovable. I need to be willing to lay down my pride and be willing to be like Jesus and serve, love, and submit to everyone. Not to accommodate them, but to love them sacrificially.
Prayer: Lord, I don’t want to do this. Help me to want to be willing to submit to others, to give sacrificially of myself to those who in no way can pay me back. Help me to desire to be this self-less.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Monday, June 19, 2006
Ephesians 4* June 20th
* I was pointed to the fact I skipped Galatians 5-6. While I have all sorts of "good excuses" for that, I will simply accept your gift of grace in advance and work on those last chapters of Galatians once we have finished Ephesians.
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 4:14-15
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Title: Growing Up
Observation: I hate fads. I like to think I always have, though you could probably go through my historical closet and music collection and come to the conclusion that I have been just as much a part of the herd as anyone else. Still, the idea that we have to re-decorate our worlds to keep up with some arbitrary trend every few years to satisfy the whimsy of some multi-national companies corporate shill does make me a little crazy. Does that sound bitter and curmudgeonly? I hope so.
And yes, the Christian world has our own fads. Some of them are at bottom quite good, the message re-enforcing the truth we have already learned, bringing us back to the basics of our faith and explaining them in a new and fresh way. I think that the Purpose Driven Life was one such example.
But, as Rick Warren would point out, there is nothing new in that book that has not been a part of orthodox Christianity for 2000 years. The foolish idea that Dr. Warren had come up with something new, when he wrote that your life was, “not about you” but rather pleasing God is simply re-stating the Apostle Paul saying, ‘to live is Christ, to die is gain’.
One of the reasons why this book, and other books I like far less, was so successful is that we do not have the fundamentals of faith down. The church has not communicated well, nor have we lived up, to the commands of Christ, to love God, love on another, and preach the gospel to all people. A life dedicated to following Jesus should be challenged and encouraged by a basic primer like The Purpose Driven Life but it should not be new information. For those of us who have followed Jesus for a decade or more, we should already be mature enough, grown up enough, not to be pushed off our spiritual foundations by this good theology, much less some of the other much more suspect books about living out the Christian life. Otherwise we will move from one spiritual high to another, never really knowing Jesus except second hand.
Application: I need to grow up in faith. I must challenge others to grow up, and not be as infants. I need to encourage healthy and strong believers. I must be willing to sacrifice so that I might find space for my own growth.
Prayer: Lord God, help me create the space I need to experience your love and to grow up into your headship. Help me to lead others to grow into your great love, that they might become strong in knowing you.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
June 19 Ephesians 3
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Title: Growing Together in Power and Love
Observation: God desires those who call upon Him to lead there lives to have power. He wants His followers to impact the world in which they live. He wants to give us His authority to go and tell the world about a new way of living.
Yet He does not give authority, from how I read scripture, to individuals outside of community. He gives authority within the correcting influence of the church body. If we are to exercise authority we must be accountable. Or we may very well end up as one of those who have brought shame on the gospel.
But God’s ultimate gift of power, is not to move mountains or expel demons, but rather that we might more firmly grasp the greatest of mysteries- the infinite God who loves us. This truly does surpass what we can comprehend. And out of the fullness of understanding of God’s great love, out of the overflow of what we can handle, comes the love we need to have for the world in which we are placed.
Application: I must immerse myself in the mystery of God’s love. I need to experience his love daily, so that I might truly love others. I need to love out of the overflow of God’s first love for me.
Prayer: Lord God, help me create the space I need to experience your love. Help me to see you in others. Help me to love them with your love.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
June 15 Ephesian 2
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 2:4b-5
God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Title: Grace
Observation: Grace. We are so tempted to add things to grace, like grace + works, grace + obedience, grace + Bible reading, grace + attending church regularly as our key to salvation. The truth is that grace + anything is always less than grace alone. Grace is unmerited favor which we enjoy, and should richly enjoy, through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Every so often I get selfish. Or self-centered. In my own little cosmic scheme I begin to believer that I am the only true believer, the only one that really sees what needs to be done, the only one faithful enough to see a work of God through. How foolish and narcissistic of me!
I do not want to be a Pharisaical, yet the temptation, particularly in pastoral ministry, is great. We like to draw lines well short of the line of sin. One, it keeps people from falling into sin in our imagination (in actuality it make exactly the opposite way). It also makes church discipline a whole lot easier. If we erect a large fence of righteousness around our little clan of believers it can bring the unity and strength of a mini-“cult”. But in exchange we would have to give up our greatest gift from God, grace. We would no longer be free. And Jesus came to earth so that we might have life, real life, life to the fullest measure.
Application: I need to be free. I need to love more freely. I need to not be defensive about my weaknesses and allow people to know me better. I need to be willing to handle rebuke, Lord, give me the grace to do this!
Prayer: Lord God, help me to live in grace and not try to put myself or others under the law. Your grace is sufficient. Help me believe that and communicate that and be willing to trust you for the results.
8
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
June 14 Ephesians 1
Key Verse(s): Ephesians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Title: The Inheritance
Observation: I once worked at a Presbyterian church. Their doctrine is that humans are entirely wicked, ‘total depravity’ is there phrase, and the only thing that allows people to be saved is the grace of God. Fair enough. But they take it further and argue that humans are so depraved that they can not even choose to follow Jesus. Those who are saved are saved regardless of their will and that is the sovereign choice of God. I could not and can not believe that because Jesus came to offer all the gift of salvation who would call upon His name. But they used this doctrine to explain infant baptism.
Infant baptism does not bring salvation. But infant baptism is a symbol of grace, something like an enormous trust fund for a child, the mark that God has saved them. Clearly an infant or a child cannot write a check on this bank. But as the grow older they will learn how to access the riches of God’s grace in covenant relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
While I obviously disagree with this approach to baptism (I believe that all examples of baptism in the New Testament were done by believers), I do agree that we have an enormous inheritance that most of us have not tapped into. We can live our lives on the economy of God’s grace or we can scrounge on the pocket money of our schemes. When we try to be independent from God, instead of dependent on him, we live in spiritual poverty and live lives that are less than the fullness and richness that God desires. We need to allow the cross of Jesus to count for more than overdraft protection- we need to live off the riches of forgiveness, mercy, hope, faith and love that we have inherited as co-heirs with Christ. We have an embarrassing amount of riches that we too often do not tap as we walk around in lives that are the spiritual equivalent of lrags.
Application: I need to give God room to do miracles around me and in me instead of trying to muscle up and do the heavy lifting of transforming my life, my family, and the church on my own strength. Jesus did not come so that I could be His hero; He came to be my Savior.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to trust you for miracles, to believe that you can do the impossible, that you can do far better through me than I could ever do for you. Help me to let you lead and be willing to be a simple servant who carries out the details of the plans that you have for eternity. Help me to be humble enough to gratefully seek out your help in all things.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, June 12, 2006
June 13 Galatians 4
Key Verse(s): Galatians 4:3-4
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Title: Prayer for the Messenger
Observation: I am never sure how much prayer to ask for. I understand it is prayer that somehow participates in moving the Spirit into action. In a way that I don’t fully understand, prayer, fervent and often, affects the nature of how God works on earth. So obviously this is of primary importance.
Yet prayer and calling people to prayer can also be a power play. I have seen it. Prayer teams can be used as a tool of egocentric pastors to make them themselves the message and not the Gospel itself. It can be played upon to build a false sense of intimacy and caring for a group. It can be a nice hiding place for those who have no intention of living sacrificial lives to speak of failure as “God’s will”.
But asking for prayer, sincerely, is allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Asking for prayer admits weakness. And while it may be easy to acknowledge weakness in the abstract, calling for prayer for very human failings is much harder. And a true prayer community demands time and nurture, intimacy to flourish and grow.
I need prayer. I want, like Paul, to proclaim the message clearly. And without God’s intervention I will not be used in the way I need to be.
A story I once heard about the great Baptist preacher Spurgeon is that a young reporter came to him and asked him where his “power” to preach came from. Spurgeon was known to make remarkably accurate statements about people he had never met. So the young reporter followed the 300lb Spurgeon down a rickety staircase to the basement, expecting to see some of the tricks common at the séances of the time displayed before him. Instead he saw a circle of men on their knees in prayer. Spurgeon said very simply, This is where my power to preach comes from.
Application: I need to invite more people into my circle to pray for me, to acknowledge my weakness and failures so that they can lift me before the Father in heaven. I need to nurture these relationships so that they might grow us together and closer to Jesus.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to be honest and vulnerable. Allow me to build relationships with real intimacy. Help me to not be afraid of them. Allow me to build permanent relationships that allow me to be loved and hurt by those who will come to prayer on my behalf.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
June 12 Galatians 3
Go ahead and look first at Galatians 3 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Galatians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Title: Deep Peace of Christ
Observation: There’s a Christmas anthem arranged by John Rutter, called The Gaelic Blessing. Here are the lyrics
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you;
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
Of Christ, the light of the world to you
Deep peace of Christ to you.
You can listen to it at here for a couple of days, then I’m going to pull it down. Its easy to be peaceful and thankful when everything is going well. But that does not require the help of Jesus. Our faith shines when we are peaceful in the midst of stressful times, when we are thankful when we have lost everything. As The Message translates Jesus’ speaking in Matthew 5:3
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”
It has been a hard couple of weeks for me. It has been harder for others. Still, I have the option to mope and say, “why me?” Or I can be joyful and thankful in the midst of troubled times. I must choose to follow Jesus.
Application: I will choose to be joyful when I speak to the insurance adjusters, I will chose to be at peace when I answer the subpoena to testify, I will let the peace of Christ rule in my heart when I have I enter a conflicted situation tomorrow. I will trust God to be present and I will allow Him to be my shield and defender.
Prayer: Lord God, help me. In the words of the old Latin mass, Kyrie Eleison , Lord Have Mercy, on the thing that I must do. Christ, you before me, behind me, around me, before my path and behind my path, leading and guiding, being my guide and friend. Lord help me and help me to sing songs of praise in the midst of difficult times. Allow me be embraced by your love as I am stripped of things that are like crutches. Adonai Elohim, Lord God, be my protector and defender. Jehovah Jireh, provide my needs.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
June 8 Galatians 2
Go ahead and look first at Galatians 2 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Galatians 2:20-21
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Title: Grace
Observation: I like to work and accomplish things. I like to succeed, and like even more to take credit for the success in my life. And yet I am constantly reminded the truth in scirputre- I am unable to effect salvation for anyone, not even myself. It is only through the grace of God that I am His child. I did not earn it; I could not earn it. I must accept as a gift that which I could never earn.
Recently I forgot an appointment with my pastoral coach. This for me is a frightening moment. I hate forgetting things I promised to do. And even worse, this was my third miss in the last couple months. I have not missed this many in a series of appointments since I was a college student more than a decade ago. I was deeply humiliated. I wrote a longish email of apology, citing the situations going on in my life, but giving him the freedom and permission to terminate our professional relationship. He does not deserve to be stood up like I have three times over the last few months.
Instead, I get an email back from him- and the words he uses are words like, grace, forgiveness, and trust. Instead of making me feel bad for something I cannot go back in time and fix, he has extended forgiveness and has offered me the opportunity to continue this mentoring relationship. This was not what I deserved; this was an act of grace.
Application: I hold myself up to a fairly high standard and I like to hold others up to high standards too. But I must also extend the grace of Jesus. I want to be a person of grace. I want to love people and encourage them unconditionally.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to be loving and forgiving. Help me to forgive myself and others. Help me to model grace. Lord, I am unworthy of your Goodness, but help me to accept this gift unconditionally. Allow me to live a grace-filled life.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
June 7 Galatians 1
Go ahead and look first at Galatians 1 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Galatians 1:8
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Title: The Importance of Doctrine
Observation: Paul is furious with the Galatians. We will see him call them “foolish” in the next chapter. In every other letter written to a church he knew he would write at the beginning of the letter a paragraph or two of thanksgiving for them continuing in the faith. He can’t do that here. Even in highly flawed
And the issue that he confronts is the most serious one that can occur in a church. Its not evil behavior; we have a savior who died to bring healing and wholeness through repentance for that. No, the issue is trying to amalgamate the truth of God with human wisdom. These cults leave behind the truth of Jesus and worship a lie. They have no place in the
And this is what can kill the spirit, what can separate from God eternally. This is why Paul must be so stern. Their very souls, and those they share their misguided attempt at religion, are at stake. There were many things on which Paul was willing to compromise; on the person and truth of Jesus he was not.
Many churches have been on the slipper slope for along time. In an effort not to be Pharisaical, they rehabilitated those who had lived lives of sin and embraced them into the church. That’s exactly what we are called to do. But when a church then goes further and begins to say that what the New Testament calls sin isn’t sin, they have lost their way. And once you begin to question the authority of scripture you move toward universalism. In another denomination I was in, at their regional meeting they recently had scripture readings from both the Bible and the Quar’ran. And prayed to the God of Muhammad. I can’t imagine how Paul would have reacted to that in a denomination that still gives lip service to calling itself follower of Jesus Christ.
Application: We must never walk away from the truth of Christ or add or subtract from the teaching of the New Testament. We have a precious treasure, but as Jesus said, a little yeast works through the whole loaf. We need to be a people of redemption and forgiveness, but never lose sight of the teachings of Jesus and the gravitas of sin.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to be loving and forgiving. Help me to show the love of Christ to those who are struggling. But let me call sin sin and give me the courage and wisdom to be a defender of orthodox Christianity and to teach the authentic truth of New Testament scripture and not amalgamate it with human wisdom.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, June 05, 2006
June 6 Acts 28
Go ahead and look first at Acts 28 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Acts 28:31
Boldly and without hindrance he preached the
Title: A Fairy Tale Ending
Observation: Most fairy tales end “…and they lived happily ever after.” We don’t get that with Paul here at the end of Acts. In fact, we might have suspected it, with something along the lines of “… and Paul was killed by the Romans and was taken up into heaven.” Paul was clear that that’s what he was looking forward to. Instead, we get this last glimpse of Paul preaching.
But preaching the gospel unhindered was what Paul longed to do as long as he had life and breath. So in a sense, we do find the happy ending. And far more for the people who accepted the truth about Jesus from the preaching of Paul!
Application: Things don’t always work out like I planned. I may envision completion of a project very differently than what God has in mind. I need to be willing to accept the results that God gives. And to continue in my mission to serve others and love them with the love of Christ.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to be willing to allow you to determine what success is, allow you to grow your church. Help me be willing to hang in there with all the twists and turns my son must go through. Allow me to be faithful even when I don’t like the direction I’m being directed toward.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
June 5 Acts 27
Go ahead and look first at Acts 27 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Acts 27:12
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach
Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place
Observation: Sometimes, whether it’s our own fault or not, we end up in place we cannot stay. The harbor they were in would not shelter them from the winter storms. So they set out of what Paul told them would be a disastrous journey
As a lifeguard I learned that if a small child who can’t swim well falls into the water, he will try to swim across the pool to the other side. Some of them can’t make it that far. However, if they turned 180 degrees once the fell in they could reach the wall and safety. But in panic the instinct is not to think but to try to reach what we perceive as safety.
We may be in a situation which we ought not to stay in. It could be financial. It could be a relationship. It could be a job. But instead of blindly rushing for what we perceive as the closest form of safety, we need to relax, try to float a bit, and ask God for help. Very often the solution he will offer will be outside your thinking. Sometimes, the difference will be in the long swim ahead you will find supernatural support the God of the Universe. We need not to be confident in our own strength or wisdom, but to be enmeshed in God’s leading and direction.
Application: I need to not rely on my own thinking. And trust God. He may have a better plan for me.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to be willing to allow you to direct my path. I need you to help me to know how to lead others, ways that you want them to go and grow. Help me to trust you for my family’s safety and security. Help me not to panic when the crisis happens, but instead to truly trust you.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
